Houses with inner courts



June 7, 1966 c, VAN DER LELY 3,254,458

HOUSES WITH INNER COURTS Filed June 19, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Com/Eu: VAN 05/? [54 June 7, 1966 c. VAN DER LELY 3,254,458

HOUSES WITH INNER COURTS Filed June 19, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Comma/J VAN 05/? [EL V June 7, 1966 c. VAN DER LELY HOUSES WITH INNER COURTS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 19, 1962 INVENTOR.

nrn! J CORNELL, VAN. DER [El :1

June 7, 1966 l c. VAN DER LELY 3,254,458

HOUSES WITH INNER COURTS Filed June 19, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Cap/v54 A? VAN 050 [EL v United States Patent 3,254,458 HOUSES WITH INNER COURTS Cornelis van der Lely, Zug, Switzerland, assignor to C. van der Lely N.V., Maasland, Netherlands, a Dutch limited-liability company Filed June 19, 1962, Ser. No. 203,588 Claims priority, application Netherlands, July 4, 1961, 266,671 11 Claims. (Cl. 5279) The invention relates to a grouping of houses.

In accordance with the invention, a number of the houses have on their rear side an inner court which may form a garden, these houses beingarranged in at least one row in staggered positions. The inner court is surrounded by permanent walls.

With this arrangement of the houses the inner courts are for at least the major part not exposed or within the view of the occupants of houses other than that to which the court belongs.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention the houses, which have a shed or a garage on the rear side, are relatively oifset over a distance which corresponds to the width of the shed or garage.

In a further embodiment of the invention the houses are arranged in two rows, while the sheds or garages face each other. In this case the longitudinal center lines of a house of one row and of a house of the other row are preferably at an obtuse angle to each other.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the sheds or garages are arranged on either side of a road, while the center lines of the sheds or garages on one side of the road are at an acute angle to the center lines of the sheds or garages on the other side of the road.

According to a further aspectof the invention, the arrangement comprises a row of houses which rest on foundation beams extending transversely to the direction of the row, these beams being arranged so that two neighboring houses rest on part of their length and that only one of the houses rests on a further part of their length.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be readily carried into effect, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawing.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a number of houses, which are arranged in staggered positions.

FIG. 2 shows on a reduced scale a plan view of two rows of houses arranged in staggered positions with inner courts forming gardens and FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the rows of houses of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of two rows of houses embodying a further aspect of the invention, a shed being erected in the garden of each house in the form of an L.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation .of the rows of houses of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows two houses of the rows as shown in FIGS.

4 and 5.

Each of the houses shown, in FIG. 1 is built up from a number of box-shaped prefabricated sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, each comprising one or more dwelling spaces of the houses, which is shown in detail for the house A. The six interconnected sections of each house rest on their sides on foundation beams 7 and 8, which are normally arranged in the soil, but which are shown in this figure above the ground for the sake of clarity. The foundation beam 7 projects on the rear side of the house A beyond the hindmost, box-shaped section 3 over a part 9 and the foundation beam 8 projects on the front side of the house over a part 10. Consequently, two houses rest on the foundation beam over part of its length, whereas only one house rests on the ends thereof. At each side of the house A, houses B and C are erected, which are built up, similarly to the house A, from box-shaped prefabricated sections. The house B is offset to the front with respect to the house A over the width of one boxshaped section which rests on the same foundation beam '8. The house C is offset to the rear with respect to the house A and rests on the same foundation beam 7. The hindmost box-shaped section of the house C rests on the part 9 of the foundation beam 7, projecting beyond thehindmost box-shaped section 4 of the house A, whereas the foremost box-shaped section of the house B rests on the forwardly projecting part 10 of the foundation beam 8.

From FIG. 2 it will be seen that the houses A, B and C are arranged in staggered positions in one row alongside a road 11. Each of the houses A, B and C has an inner court 12, 13 and 14 respectively, forming a garden. On the rear side of the inner court, over the full width thereof, each house has a shed or garage 15, 16 and 17 respectively. These inner courts, as is shown by way of example for the inner court 12, are surrounded by the rear side of the house A, the front side of the shed 15, a side of the neighboring shed 16 and a side of the house C on Y the other side. Moreover, the rest of the boundary of the inner court 12 is surrounded by permanent fences, for example walls 18 and 19, the height of which is preferably at least equal to the height of the shed.

Owing to the staggered positions of the houses a considerable part of the inner court of each of the houses is completely free of exposure so that thefreedom of the inhabitants may be considerably greater than in the case of a conventional arrangement of houses, the facades of which are in line With each other. The arrangement described above provides, in addition, a very economic use 'of the ground surface. If the sheds are constructed in the form of garages, having an entry in that part of their wall over which the shed projects beyond a neighboring house (see the entries 20, 21 and 22) it is easily possible to enter and ride out cars.

From FIG. 2 it appears that it is possible to arrange a second row of houses in conjunction with the first row. Similarly to the first row the second row comprises three houses D, E and F. This row is the mirror image of the first row, so that the longitudinal center line X, X of a house C of one row is at an obtuse angle to the longitudinal center line Y, Y of a house D of the second row.

' The houses D, E and F have sheds 23, 24 and 25 respectively, with exits 26, 27 and 28 respectively. They have furthermore inner courts 23A, 24A and 25A respectively, which are completely surrounded by buildings, and thus unexposed to the sight of non-inhabitants. Moreover, the two rows of houses are arranged at such a large distance from each other that from the second story of a house of one row A, Band C people substantially are unable to seeinto the inner court of a house of a further row D,

E and F, which will be evident from FIG. 3.

The arrangement of the houses described above has the advantage that the garages are readily accessible; if desired the road 29 between the garages may be made accessible only for one-way traffic.

The aforesaid arrangement of the garages may also be employed in the case in which the houses are not arranged in staggered positions. The arrangement of the garages, in which the longitudinal center line P, P of a garage of one row is at an acute angle to the longitudinal center line Q, Q of a garage of the other row is particularly favorable for an economic use of the available ground surface. 7

The houses shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 correspond largely with those of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 and corresponding parts are therefore designated by the same references.

Each house comprises sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The houses have inner courts 30, which may form gardens, and which are closed on one side and on th rear side by a shed 31. This shed may, if desired, be used as a garage. The houses are arranged obliquely, as the houses of FIG. 2, but the difference is that the houses have their facades facing each other.

The houses are shown in FIG. 6 on a greater scale. On the left-hand part of the figure there is given a cross-sectional View of the house and the shed at the level of the sections 1, 2, and 3 and on the right-hand part of the figure there is given a cross sectional view of the sections 4, 5, and 6.

The sections 1, 2, and 3 comprise a living room 32, a passage 33, a kitchen 34, a toilet 35, a staircase 36 and a cupboard 37, whereas the sections 4, 5, and 6 comprise rooms 38, 39, 40 and 41 and a bathroom 42.

On the right-hand part of FIGURE 6 there is shown a plan view of the shed 31 and on the left-hand part of the figure is a sectional view of such shed. The shed has a door 43 for a part 44, which may serve as a garage, and two storage spaces 45 and 46.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A plurality of similarly shaped adjoining single family houses disposed in a row, each of said houses having at least two stories above ground level and being substantially rectangular in plan, the front and back of each of said houses extending forward of the corresponding front and back of the preceding house by a substantial distance, a substantially rectangular court immediately to the rear of each of said houses, the fronts and backs of all of said houses being parallel to each other, each of said courts aligned with its corresponding house, said courts each enclosed by a boundary structure approximately one story high together with the back of the corresponding house and the side of the preceding house, whereby a view of each of said courts is substantially barred except to occupants of the house corresponding to the court involved.

2. A plurality of houses in accordance with claim 1 wherein a shed is disposed to the rear of each of said courts, each of said sheds comprising part of said boundary structure, said sheds being in echelon with each extending forward of the preceding shed.

3. A plurality of houses in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said houses is comprised of a plurality of similarly sized prefabricated box-shaped elements, each of said elements extending across the width of the house it comprises, the forward of said elements of a house aligned with the second element of the house adjacent to and forward thereof.

4. A plurality of adjoining houses disposed in overlapping echelon, each of said houses having a second story and being substantially rectangular in plan, a substantially rectangular court immediately to the rear of each of said houses, each of said courts directly aligned with its corresponding house, each of said courts enclosed by boundary structure at least one story high, said boundary structure and the disposition of said houses excluding a view of each of said courts in substantial part except to the occupants of the house corresponding to the court involved.

5. A plurality of adjoining houses in accordance with claim 4 wherein each of said houses is comprised of a plurality of prefabricated box-shaped elements, each of said elements extending across the width of the house which it comprises, the forward element of a house aligned with the second element of the house adjacent to and forward thereof.

6. A plurality of adjoining houses in accordance with claim 4 wherein a garage is disposed to the rear of each of said courts, said garage comprising part of said boundary structure, each of said garages being in echelon with and extending forward of the preceding garage.

7. A plurality of similar adjoining houses disposed in a row, each of said houses having two stories above the ground level and being substantially cuboid in shape, the front of each of said houses extending forward of the preceding house by a substantial distance, a substantially rectangular cour-t immediately to the rear of each of said houses, each of said courts aligned with its corresponding house, said courts each enclosed by boundary structure at least one story high together with the back of the corresponding house and the side of the preceding house, whereby a view of each of said courts is substantially excluded to occupants of houses other than that corresponding to the court involved.

8. A plurality of adjoining houses in accordance with claim 7 wherein each of said houses is comprised of six prefabricated box-shaped elements, each of said elements extending across the width of said houses, the forward of each of said elements of a house aligned with the middle of said elements of the house adjacent to an forward thereof.

9. A plurality of aligned houses in accordance with claim 8 wherein a garage is disposed to the rear of each of said courts and comprises part of said boundary structure, said garages being in echelon with each extending forward of the preceding garage, each of said garages consisting of a prefabricated element similar in size and parallel to the prefabricated elements of its corresponding house.

10. A plurality of houses in accordance with claim 9 wherein a further prefabricated element perpendicular to said garage extends between said garage and said house and comprises part of said boundary structure.

11. A plurality of adjoining single family residential units, said units each comprising: a house, a garage, and a court disposed there'oetween; said house, garage, and court being substantially rectangular in plan and aligned in adjoining relationship on a rectangular lot; the houses of said residential units adjoining each other in an overlapping contacting relationship, the front of each of said houses extending forward of the preceding house by a substantial distance; the courts of said houses enclosed by boundary structure which includes the back of the house in the unit involved, part of the side of the preceding house, a fence at least one story high, and the garage of the unit involved, whereby a view of each of said courts is excluded to occupants of uni-ts other than the unit including the court.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 112,267 2/1929 Austria.

902,397 12/1944 France. 1,087,887 9/1954 France.

606,646 7/1934 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES House and Home Publication, May 1955, pg. 166.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Examiner.

D. H. SWITZER, K. E. PAYNE, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A PLURALITY OF SIMILARLY SHAPED ADJOINING SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES DISPOSED IN A ROW, EACH OF SAID HOUSES HAVING AT LEAST TWO STORIES ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR IN PLAN, THE FRONT AND BACK OF EACH OF SAID HOUSES EXTENDING FORWARD OF THE CORRESPONDING FRONT AND BACK OF THE PRECEDING HOUSE BY A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE, A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR COURT IMMEDIATELY TO THE REAR OF EACH OF SAID HOUSES, THE FRONTS AND BACKS OF ALL OF SAID HOUSES BEING PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER, EACH OF SAID COURTS ALIGNED WITH ITS CORRESPONDING HOUSE, SAID COURTS EACH ENCLOSED BY A BOUNDARY STRUCTURE APPROXIMATELY ONE STORY HIGH TOGETHER WITH THE BACK OF THE CORRESPONDING HOUSE AND THE SIDE OF THE PRECEDING HOUSE, WHEREBY A VIEW OF EACH OF SAID COURTS IS SUBSTANTIALLY BARRED EXCEPT OF OCCUPANTS OF THE HOUSES CORRESPONDING TO THE COURT INVOLVED. 